


The ReWrite

by Ladywordsmyth



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Boys Kissing, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Eventual Smut, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Grinding, M/M, Making Out, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-02-18 15:04:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18701986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladywordsmyth/pseuds/Ladywordsmyth
Summary: Bucky is used to taking care of Steve. Even as Captain America, Bucky is still looking out for him. Even if that means walking away.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing a Stucky romance amonth ago, but after seeing Endgame I was so upset, I rewrote some of the story to "fix" the ending.
> 
> Storyline takes place prior to Black Panther and continues to the end of Avengers Engame. It is mostly canon with some slight AU.
> 
> [Here there be spoilers for Endgame enter at your own risk]

Bucky and Steve stood toe to toe outside at the Avengers compound. Bucky had tried to sneak away after the events at the airport but Steve had chased him down. Steve Rogers...forever stubborn.

"Come on, Rogers...you have to see why I'm doing this. I protected you before and I sure as hell can't stop now. Even if it means protecting you from me. You're a hero now, pal...I can't be the reason you give that up. I can't. Please don't ask me to. _Please_ , Stevie." Bucky's voice faltered as he spoke the old nickname.

"No, Buck. You don't understand. I gave it all up the moment I saw your face again... all these years later. Even knowing who you had become... I was so happy, Buck, because I knew that if you were alive that at least there was a chance. When I thought you died...I died too. So no, I can't let you go again. Even if it means diving face first back into the ice with you...Till the end of the line."

Bucky was crying now but trying to sheild it with his longer hair. Hair that the old Bucky would have hated. Just thinking of the old Bucky and his penchant for short slicked back hair and wingtip shoes made Steve's chest squeeze painfully.

"I've done too many horrible things, Steve. The memories... There are too many...you can't possibly know all the things Hydra made me do. You're too... _good_ , Steve, I won't drag you down with me."

"I'm only going to say this once, James Buchanan Barnes. Before you belonged to Hydra, you belonged to me. And I refuse to let you go again. Do you understand? You belong to me, Buck. _Me_." The heated possessive tone Steve was using should have pissed him off. It should have...but didn't. Steve's temper was clearly rising and he audibly took several breaths trying to calm down.

Arousal crept in, burning out some of the ugly thoughts trying to cloy to the surface of Bucky's mind. He breathed. Truly breathed for the first time in what felt like years. Captain-fucking-America owned him. He shivered violently at the thought, feeling the rush of arousal flood his groin.

"Bucky...look at me, please?" Steve's voice was almost gentle now. Bucky opened his eyes, not even realizing he had closed them during Steve's speech.

Bucky looked up. Into the eyes that had captivated him for nearly 100 years. Eyes so blue, you could lose yourself in them if you looked too long. A blue that could drown you in the fathoms within. Bucky never knew blue could be hot until he saw the fire contained in the eyes of a 90 pound Brooklyn kid fighting in an alleyway.

Even now, Steve's eyes held him in their sway, threatening to draw him in with the promises held there. Bucky felt his resolve fading, for his will could not compete with the sheer stubborness of one Steve Rogers. His need to belong waged war with his protective side. Somehow Steve was able to shoot straight to the heart of Bucky's inner struggle.

"I don't need you to protect me anymore, Buck. What I need is for the man I love...to love me back." And there it was. Steve Rogers...offering his heart to someone who didn't deserve it.

Bucky hadn't realized he had spoken the last part aloud until he heard Steve answer.

"It's mine to give. Don't I get to decide who deserves it? Please, Bucky? We've waited 90 odd years for this to finally happen. It's a new world, buddy, one that neither of us fully understand. But If there was ever one person I would have wanted to time-travel with...it would have been you. It has always been you, Bucky." Steve croaked, a small smile threatening to bloom at the corner of his mouth.

Steve's lips were lush, pillowy and slightly moistened with saliva. A mouth that almost seemed too feminine not to be on a dame...but coupled with Steve's adonis like frame, it made him look devastating. Like he could just as easily kick your teeth in as suck your soul out through your cock. Bucky could feel himself hardening in his trousers, almost painfully so.

Bucky wanted more than anything to give him the answer that Steve, so clearly, craved. He let himself daydream for just a moment about how things would go...

 

_Heart pounding in his chest, Bucky finally let down his defenses and nodded. "Okay, Stevie. If you're sure...How can I argue with Captain fucking America, eh?" He grinned slightly, just a small uptick of the cheek, avoiding eye contact._

_"Language, Buck." Steve taunted, lightly punching Bucky in the shoulder. Instead of pulling his hand back, he left his hand on Bucky's shoulder, lightly massaging the musculature developed from the Soviet's super-soldier serum._

_"Why should I watch my language now, Steve? Hmm? Planning on punishing me if I misbehave? Because, honestly, that just makes me want to do other bad things..." Bucky's voice dropped low near the end, tantalizing so._

_Steve's pupils dilated, his tongue darted out briefly to wet a bottom lip now caught between shiny white teeth. "I would be happy to spank you if needed." Steve teased._

 

"Bucky?" Steve murmured. Bucky snapped out of the fantasy at the sound. Taking a breathe, Bucky cut Steve free.

"Sorry, Steve. I can't."

Bucky turned to leave before he could see the dejected puppy expression that Steve was bound to be wearing. He channelled his inner winter soldier and shut out his heartbreak. Steve was safe now. He held that knowledge in his heart as he trudged off to the ship that would take him to Wakanda. Alone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky attempts to recuperate in Wakanda but finds himself struggling.

Bucky found life in Wakanda to be remarkably simple. He enjoyed waking up each day and working the land near his hut and herding his goats.

Sweating with the satisfaction of work well done, he briefly sat down for a rest break. The air was warm, almost unbearably so, and it made him long for the winters back in Brooklyn. Bucky used to work the docks back before the war, his measly salary barely able to keep the heat on in the meager apartment he shared with Steve.

Steve.

Bucky visibly shook himself, unwilling to follow that train of thought to avoid further heartbreak. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his natural arm, no longer using a mechanical arm. It made him feel more human this way. The mech arm meant war and it just brought back more bad memories of his time with Hydra, not that he needed to worry about his brainwash programming anymore. Shuri had managed to fix that problem a lot easier than expected. She really was a genius.

Bucky massaged the back of his neck, sticky with sweat. It reminded him of the night sweats he used to get shortly after waking up in Wakanda. The nightmares plagued him until T'Challa visited him and asked him to see a therapist. Back in Bucky's day, mental health was so rarely spoken of, a sign of weakness. However, he respected the young king for his help, so he agreed.

For two long months he saw a therapist every few days. Bucky was surprised to find it had actually helped a lot. She taught him breathing techniques to ease his panic attacks. Oddly enough, they were similar to the breathing exercises that Steve used to do for his asthma, way back when.

Steve.

Somehow everything reminded him of Steve. Even his therapist had started questioning Bucky about their relationship.

During the last session she said, "Bucky. We've been working together for weeks now and you have made so much progress with your mental health...and Shuri says your mind is free of reprogramming. You told me when we first met that you wanted to get better so you could finally be with the person you loved. At a certain point, _recuperating_ here is going to look a lot like _hiding_ from your life."

Bucky sighed, knowing his therapist had been right. He was hiding. It was about time we went home. Home to Steve.

A shadow fell. "Sergeant Barnes. It's time," spoke T'challa. A briefcase with a new vibranium arm was opened and placed before him.

"Where's the fight?" Bucky guessed, cynically.

"On its way," T'challa reptlied sagely.

Later on that day...

Seeing Captain America again, in all his glory, was a sight to behold. Watching Steve get off the ship, Bucky's chest tightened painfully. Seeing him again was both amazing and painful. Bucky wished they had time to spend rehashing all that had been left unsaid before, but there simply wasn't any.

"How you doin', Buck?" Steve smiled, his face lighting slightly. Steve hugged him easily.

"Oh you know...not bad...for the end of the world," Bucky teased. His insides felt tight and flushed, just from a simple hug from Steve. He wanted to say more, but there would be time after...right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep in mind, there is angst, yes, but I promise this IS a happy story, I just figured if I was going to rewrite the Stucky romance for Endgame, I needed to start farther back and make it RIGHT. Thanks for reading and stay tuned!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky misses another chance but is resurrected by a man whose parents had died by Bucky's own hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place near the end of infinity war and picks up in Endgame. SPOLIERS FOR AVENGERS ENDGAME

The battle for the soul stone was a difficult one. Losing Vision to Thanos was an unbelievably hard thing for all of the Avengers, Bucky included. 

At the end, he looked around the battlefield, gun in hand, when he felt it...a strange lightening in his body. Bucky barely had time to say, "Steve?" Before he, too, turned to dust. Bucky finally rested.

And in the next blink of an eye, he woke. The second snap had Bucky, and the other half of the world, waking up, confused. Before he could process much of anything, a strange wizard-looking mother fucker opened a damn portal in front of him.

"I'm Doctor Steven Strange. You must be Sergeant Barnes. I wish we had more time to discuss things. but I can only offer you the condensed version of events: five years have passed where you and half the world were dead, the remaining Avengers were able to go back in time and retrive the Infinity Guantlet from Thanos and bring back everyone. They are currently fighting him and our friends need all the help they can get. So if you want to help Steve Rogers, come with me."

Bucky was stunned. There was simply too much information to process but his protective side heard the words "Steve needs help" and he realized, the rest could wait. His Stevie needed him.

"Let's go."

Doctor Strange opened another golden portal, similar to the one from moments ago, which Bucky stepped through, gladly. 

He landed in a battle. People Bucky had never met were being transported through the strange golden portals all around him. It was about to be quite a fight.

Lifting his gun, Bucky turned his attention to a broken shield in the distance. 

Steve.

Even from this far away, Bucky was able to make out Steve's beautiful face, battered and bruised, but smiling. Alive. That would have to be enough for now because the fight was on. Bucky let loose his inner Winter Soldier and started firing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading the latest chapter, I promise we are nearing the conclusion that I promised would be fluffy. I think all of us deserve to finally get our happily ever after for Steve and Bucky (and fans of Evans-Stan, as well, of course). There will be at least one, possibly two, more chapters before it ends. stay tuned.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of the fight against Thanos, our heroes mourn the loss of their fallen allies...

They had won. Actually defeated the titan Thanos. Largely, thanks to the sacrifice made by Tony Stark.

Bucky and Tony's relationship had never been friendly but it was hard not to respect the man who had started the Avengers. Despite Bucky having killed Tony's parents while under Hydra's command and Tony's group attempting to capture Steve's group, I doubt either Bucky nor Tony would have wished this ending on the other. All the Avengers, friends and family would miss the loud-mouth billionaire. Even Steve. Maybe, even, _especially_ Steve.

Watching from nearby, Bucky observed Steve's stiff upper lip at Tony's wake. To anyone looking, not keenly attuned to Steve's moods, the Captain might appear stoic. To Bucky, Steve looked guilty.

Surprising no one, the man known to the world as Captain America was a bit of a martyr. While Steve and Tony butted heads more often than not, there was always a mutual respect between them. Steve was likely, at that moment, wishing he could have brought Tony Stark home alive, back to his family. Instead, Steve was stuck wondering and wishing things had ended differently.

Bucky was laser-focused on every incremental change in Steve's outward demeanor while everyone else's attention was on the speaker. Seeing Steve suffering was never easy and seeing him try to suffer silently was worse.

During a moment of silence for the deceased, Bucky made his way towards Steve, stopping only when he was close enough to grasp Steve's shoulder.

Bucky's mechanical arm usually stood as a reminder to everyone of Bucky's crimes committed under the Winter Soldier programming. More often than not, Bucky loathed the cursed thing. Today, however, it let Steve know exactly who was touching him without looking. The metal arm on his shoulder could only be one person at a gathering such as this.

Steve's head was bowed, but he reached up, placing his hand over Bucky's mechanical one, holding it there. Accepting Bucky's added strength and unknowingly, causing Bucky to be somewhat thankful for his mechanical appendage. For once, the mech arm had given comfort to the most import person in Bucky's life and had hurt no one.

When the silence was broken, heads raised. Steve's eyes were wet, but his face was set in it's mask once again. Steve gave Bucky's hand a light squeeze before releasing it completely. Bucky removed his hand once again, glad to be there with Steve in solidarity.

The crowd began to move as one, quietly turning their backs on Tony Stark's legacy. As if in unison, everyone moved at the same pace, quietly, lost in thought over their fallen hero. Everyone, that is, but Bucky. He trailed behind Steve in a different direction, towards the wooded area near the pond. Curious, Bucky followed silently, observing Steve's space should he wish it.

Steve walked without clear purpose, causually stepping on fallen leaves and twigs. Bucky, who had been trained as a spy, couldn't help making his own footsteps largely silent. As the branches cleared, Steve stepped into a small alcove with a bench near the water. He must have known it was there as he sat with no preamble. Not quite knowing what to do, Bucky waited behind a tree, simply watching. Before he got a chance to decide, he heard Steve sigh and say, "It's been a while since you've followed me like this, Buck."

To be continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I may have underestimated how much this authoress likes to write and somehow have carved out at least another 2 chapters (not including this most recent)... I can only apologize but the more I write these two, the more I don't want to rush their love. I want things to happen as organically as possible and unfortunatley that means that the characters tell ME what needs to happen, not the other way around. As of right now, i have written most of the next chapter and will try to close things nicely in a further chapter. Bear with me, my loves...


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein our two super soldiers finally have "the talk."

Bucky cleared his throat. "It doesn't feel very long ago for me," he stated dumbly. He decided to hell with formality and sat next to Steve on the bench. The bench was clearly not made for two super soldier's widths' so their thighs touched, slightly. Steve's thigh was warm against Bucky's own which somehow felt shockingly intimate.

Bucky found himself at a loss for words, rousing speeches were more of a Steve Rogers type of thing. But this was his best friend, his _only_ friend, so he tried his best.

"Steve, I'm so sorry, buddy. I know you and Tony weren't exactly best friends, but you two were close in your own way. I wish we could have stopped Thanos without anyone dying...but especially not him. For all his flaws, he was still a great man. So...I really am sorry." Bucky cleared his throat, awkwardly.

Steve looked at him finally, and he was smiling sadly. "It's weird, you know? Like...everyone we knew from our old lives is gone...and that hurts so much sometimes when I really think about it...but _this_. Losing Tony...it feels wrong. Like it felt during The Snap. I know you missed it but...that whole five years felt just like this. There was a general numbness that made the ache bearable, but only just enough. We all knew we had to keep living, but without a clear reason why... does that make sense?"

"Not really, man, no."

Steve snorted. "I guess you're right. Maybe I'm finally losing it in my old age..." Steve laughed a little, bitterly. He turned away again, lost in thought.

Something occurred to Bucky at that moment, he _did_ know how Steve was feeling, in a weird sort of way.

"When I was...the Winter Soldier... sometimes I would get this vague idea that I was missing someone terribly. It wasn't until I met you again that I started to realize _you_ were that strange null space in my mind that was missing." Bucky swallowed a little, trying to remain calm.

The old Winter Soldier memories were not his favorite and it was hard to talk about most of the time. But he could tell from the line of Steve's body and his odd stillness, he was listening to Bucky's story. Engaged completely but trying not to show it. It would have made Bucky laugh in other circumstances, really. Instead, he continued speaking just wanting the story to end.

"I imagine that weird feeling I used to have is similar anyways, right? I mean...for me, it felt like I didn't know myself until I remembered you." _Huh_ , Bucky hadn't meant to say that last part.

"God, Bucky, no. This is different because... losing Tony is different than when I lost you. When _you_ died...I thought the world had stopped turning. It was... utter devastation. Losing people during The Snap, that was an aching numbness. Like a wound festering. Losing Tony feels like that...A dull ache that just doesn't want to heal." He laughed a small, bitter chuckle. "You would think that as many times as you and I have lost eachother it wouldn't hurt as much...but it does. Just as badly as that very first time...watching you fall from that train all over again. It always feels like there isn't enough air in my lungs. Like before I became a super soldier, my asthma was so bad during the winters in Brooklyn. Every single time I wonder if I will survive it or if I will finally get to join you there."

Steve was crying again, silently. Bucky took his hand finally. His heart was pounding, listening to Steve say how much it hurt when they weren't together. It struck him then, this may be his only chance. Every other time he kept thinking there would be another chance, another moment...but there _never was._ If Bucky wanted to tell Steve the truth about how he really felt, he needed to do it now. No more hiding.

Bucky stood slowly before crouching in front of Steve. Steve's legs opened wider instinctively to accommodate Bucky's form. With each of Steve's legs nestled against his waist, he took Steve's cheek in his good hand.

"Stevie...look at me...please." Steve must have been shocked into acquiescence because he obeyed almost immediatley. "Wow...I ah, didn't expect you to do it so easily...usually you are such a stubborn little _shit_ , Rogers." Bucky chuckled wetly, realizing there were tears brimming in his eyes, too. _Shit_. Better do this quick before he turned into a blubbery mess.

"I know that this is the worst possible time for me to even say this but it can't wait, okay?" He rushed. Steve's blue eyes were locked on him, nodding. "I have been waiting to tell you this since we were 12 year old kids in Brooklyn...Steve Rogers, I am _in love_ with you. Before you say anything...I know what you are thinking. ' _Bucky, why didn't you say anything that day by the jet?_ ' Believe it or not, pal, I was protecting you. From me. Ever since you got the super-soldier serum you seemed to think you didn't need to be protected anymore. All I can say is... _that's bullshit._ You have always found ways of being a stubborn little shit even now that you aren't little anymore. I have always been your protecter, Rogers. More often than not, I protected you from _you,_ not bullies. That sure as shit aint gonna change now, got it?"

"Buck..." Steve croaked.

"Shhh...I know. It was a stupid idea on my part. I walked away because I knew that with all that programming in my head, I could be used to hurt people. People like _you,_ Steve. Call me crazy all you want but I refused to be used to hurt the only person in my life who means anything to me. Steve...you are and have always been, the most important person in my life, okay? You and I have waited nearly a hundred years to finally get a chance to be together and I refused to let myself be used against you. But if your feelings have changed and you don't want that anymore, all you have to do is say so, okay, pal?"

That last bit was not easy to say, but Bucky meant it. If Steve didn't want to try at a relationship, Bucky wouldn't walk out in a huff. They were best friends first, anything else....they would have to wait and see.

"God, Buck. I could just shake you for being so stupid. Of course I still want you, you idiot! I've wanted you since the time I woke up with sticky shorts after having a dream about you." Bucky's pulse sped wildly. His heart swelled...as did his parts further south.

"James Buchanan Barnes, I order you to kiss me, sergeant." He whispered, moving his face closer, close enough that all Bucky needed to do was lean foward another inch, and their mouths would inevitably meet.

"Yes, Captain."

He surged forward, nearly toppling them both in his eagerness. Steve's mouth was wet and slightly salty with tears, happy ones this time. Bucky licked at the seam of his lips, trying to coax Steve to open his mouth. When he did, Bucky's tongue dipped inside, rubbing insistently against Steve's. They moaned together, always in sync with eachother since the beginning. Steve's hands dipped to Bucky's hips, using his strength to pull Bucky into his lap. Feeling their erections grind together made them both gasp.

"Oh god, Stevie. When we were 17, I used to wonder what it would be like if we ever got together. I used to jack off thinking about how easy it would be to pick you up, lay you down...but I had no idea it would turn me on this much now that the tables are turned and you can finally pick _me_ up..." Bucky ground slowly against Steve while he whispered into his ear.

He nibbled Steve's ear before licking the shell, causing Steve to nearly growl. Steve tugged him almost impossibly closer, breathing in each other's heated breaths.

"Steve?" Both men pulled apart at the voice.

The sound of Bruce Banner clomping through the woods, drew their gazes.

"One second!" Steve yelled, trying to right his clothing. Bucky nearly fell flat on his ass when Steve stood.

"Um, _OW_ " Bucky pouted, holding his arm out for Steve to help him up off the ground.

"I'm sorry, Buck" Steve puncuated it by helping Bucky back to his feet.

Before Bucky could respond, Steve pecked him quickly on the mouth nervously offering only a whispered "be right back" before turning his back on Bucky and walking into the woods. Bucky stood motionless, _stunned_.

Should he go after Steve? What was Steve _even doing_ with Bruce Banner, anyways? And...why had he left Bucky alone? Was Steve _ashamed_ of him? Bucky's earlier high point of necking with Steve Rogers was starting to turn quickly to a low. Bucky stood there, frozen, unsure of what had just happened and what to do next.

To be continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading about the burgeoning sexual-romantic aspect between these two babes! More is still to come but the next chapter will likely be the last (and possibly another long one, sry) so enjoy!


End file.
